OPPO surpasses Huawei for the first time and becomes the leader in China's smartphone market
In January 2021, China's smartphone market experienced a historic turning point. OPPO surpassed Huawei for the first time with a market share of 22.3%, becoming the largest smartphone brand in the market. This change marks the official end of Huawei's long-term dominance of the market, and also reveals the major challenges Huawei faces due to external sanctions and chip shortages.
According to CINNO Research, the overall sales volume of China's smartphone market in January 2021 was 30.7 million units, a year-on-year increase of 35%, showing a strong market recovery momentum. OPPO ranked first with sales of 6.8 million units, and its market share increased by 7.3 percentage points year-on-year, successfully surpassing Huawei's sales of 4.6 million units. Huawei's market share dropped sharply from 30% last year to 15.2%, falling to fourth place, showing a clear trend of limited production capacity and shrinking market share.
Multiple factors behind OPPO's rise
It is no accident that OPPO can stand out. Its rise is due to strategic adjustments in many aspects. First, Huawei lost control of the mid- and low-end market due to chip shortages. OPPO quickly filled this market gap by launching cost-effective A series mobile phones. In particular, the hot sales of entry-level 5G mobile phones such as A72 brought huge growth to OPPO. At the same time, OPPO's Reno series also successfully covered the mid- and high-end market. The Reno5 series achieved amazing sales results as soon as it was released, becoming the core driving force for growth.
In terms of supply chain and channels, OPPO avoided the trouble of chip shortages through stable chip supply and deep cultivation of offline channels. In addition, OPPO increased its R&D investment, and the Reno series launched has made breakthroughs in design, imaging and fast charging technology, which has enhanced the brand's competitiveness and gradually got rid of the "low-end machine" label.
Huawei faces difficulties and challenges in the future
Huawei's sharp drop in market share is closely related to its chip supply crisis. Since the United States stepped up sanctions, Huawei has been unable to obtain advanced high-end chips, resulting in limited production capacity of its flagship mobile phones, and has instead focused on high-end folding screen mobile phones and other market segments. However, due to the loss of the mid- and low-end market, Huawei's overall market share has continued to decline. Although Huawei has launched the Hongmeng system and plans to release the P50 series of mobile phones, it will be difficult to reverse the decline in the short term.
Competition intensifies, and the future pattern is difficult to predict
Although OPPO topped the list for the first time in January, the market pattern is still uncertain. Xiaomi has shown strong market performance with sales of flagship models such as Xiaomi 11 exceeding one million units. Vivo followed closely behind through offline expansion and cost-effective models. In addition, Apple's stable performance in the high-end market has also become a threat to OPPO in the future. If OPPO wants to consolidate its market leadership, it must further break through the high-end market, especially under the pressure of competitors such as Apple and Samsung in the upcoming Find X3 series. OPPO faces considerable challenges.
Conclusion
OPPO's market rise indicates that the Chinese smartphone market has entered a new reshuffle stage. With Huawei's temporary withdrawal, other brands have gained more opportunities, but who can stand out in the fierce competition in the future will depend on the comprehensive strength of technological innovation, supply chain management and channel layout. It is expected that the future will be a market situation of "multi-strong hegemony", and consumers will get more choices and benefits in this competition.
